Why thin?

Thinning involves the removal of a proportion of a forest crop. This results in the remaining trees to be of higher quality and larger diameters and so increases timber value while providing income opportunities before clearfell.

Planning to measure

Forests should be measured prior to thinning. For this to happen, proper access is essential. Inspection paths should be cut following canopyclosure when lower branches are dead.

This involves:

Removing branches along two rows of trees to head height at 50m to 100m intervals using a pruning saw or light chainsaw

Take appropriate safety measures

Required information

To calculate thin volume per hectare, the following information is needed:

Tree stocking

Mean diameter at breast height (mdbh)

Thin diameter

Top height

Form height

Percentage to be removed

Production area

For further details, course notes, worked out examples and blank forms, see the list of publications below.